Wireless communication systems that utilize radio frequency carriers are well known in the art. Such systems include cellular telephone services and trunked dispatch services. Dispatch services differ from telephone services in a variety of ways, but are perhaps most easily distinguished from one another in that telephone communications are typically between two individuals that are each uniquely and individually identified within the system, whereas dispatch communications allow for communications amongst a group of users, without a need to individually identify each group member before initiating the communication.
Both of these services are typically offered in most populated areas. The telephone services as provided through cellular systems are utilized by those who wish to have person-to-person access through the existing telephone network, and dispatch services are typically utilized by organizations, such as public safety agencies and various business operations, that require communications within groups of mobile users. To date, such services are typically offered by separate systems. In particular, such systems share no infrastructure whatsoever, even when they share a common coverage area.
The infrastructure for such communication systems, including in particular antenna sites and base station facilities, can be quite costly. Further, in addition to cost, in many populated areas there are practical limitations that govern availability of suitable antenna sites, thereby often greatly limiting potential locations for base stations.
A need therefore exists to provide a practical mechanism whereby systems offering these different communication services can share at least some infrastructure elements in order to minimize the overall cost of the infrastructure, and also to best ensure that such services both have substantially equal access to desirable base station locations.